


Cascade

by Spindini



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Unhappy Ending, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 01:37:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17972018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spindini/pseuds/Spindini
Summary: Lapis is missing Jasper despite knowing they were bad for each other.





	Cascade

"...and here you go! We reset the temple to make it auto-generate rooms for Lapis and Peridot!" said Steven.

"Will I be able to watch my shows?" asked Peridot.

"You sure will!"

"Hey! How come that Lazuli gets somewhere to live but I have to roam this Earth by myself?" shouted Jasper.

Peridot looked at Lapis putting her head down with her hands above it, and said, "That Lazuli kind of doesn't like you after what you did to her."

"What? She did it to me! All I did was ask to fuse. I never asked to be chained!"

"Well, she didn't like it either."

"She never told me! How could I have known?" 

Then, Peridot remembered the many times she had been punished for saying things she didn't know were bad. "You know what? I'll help you out, as long as you promise to stay away from Lapis."

"No!" shouted Lapis. When Peridot looked at her, she tried to cover it. "I mean no new Camp Pining Hearts today. We'll have to watch Wheel of Fortune instead!"

"I heard what you said. Get away from me," boomed Jasper. "Wait, what is a Camp Pining Hearts? Or a Wheel of Fortune?"

"Come over to the lighthouse and I'll show you," said Peridot.

 

Peridot put in a tape of the show's first season. When it came on, she pointed to two characters. "So these are Percy and Pierre," said Peridot. "These are the ones I like seeing with each other."

"What about that one with the pretty blue eyes?" asked Jasper.

"Oh, that's Layla. Not a fan, but if you are, that's fine by me. I just think she's a bit too whiny for my tastes."

They watched the show all night until the end of the fifth season. "I wish I had good relationships like the humans on this show," said Jasper.

"Well, you and I, maybe we could have a good relationship again?"

"Really? You would fuse with me?"

"I don't know if I want to fuse, but-"

"That's exactly what I thought! Who would ever want to fuse with a corrupted brute like me?" 

"I didn't even want to fuse with Garnet. It's not you in this case."

"But no one else likes me! Not even my fellow quartz gems!" Jasper strained her face and tears streamed from her eyes.

"Why don't I show you Wheel of Fortune?"

"What's the use of a wheel of fortune when I have no good fortune in my life?"

"Okay, then... I'll just get back to Lapis now."

"Don't mention her!" Jasper covered her face.

"Here's my Wheel of Fortune Season 102 in case you want to watch it." Peridot threw the case onto Jasper's lap before leaving.

 

"Lapis, I checked the schedule and I saw a new episode of our show. What did you actually mean when you shouted no?" said Peridot.

"I know that what happened with Jasper wasn't the best for me but... I want to be with her."

"Well, too bad."

"What?"

"She doesn't want anything to do with you, and even if she did, I would never let you become... whatever that fusion thing was called! Not again!"

"It's Malachite."

"But you don't understand! She could shatter you with one strike! You aren't safe with her."

"Yes, but who needs safety when I have power? When I have someone who gives her utmost attention to me? When I have a strong, beautiful, perfect quartz to lead me?"

"I had no idea you thought so highly of her..."

"And we'll never fuse again!" Lapis cried and made her tears float. "I wish I could have shown her my meep morps and my favorite shows... but now, I can't!"

"If it makes you feel better, we just finished the entire run of CPH. And she may watch Wheel later." Peridot checked her tablet. "Speaking of shows, you're missing our show right now! Get into my room, there's a screen in there."

"I'd rather have thinking time in my own room. It's so wrong for me to feel this way but I - I can't stop it!"

"Don't worry. I heard even humans can have conflicted feelings about bad relationships." Peridot covered her mouth.

"What did you just say?"

"Listen, if you don't like to hear that what you had wasn't exactly the best for you, then maybe you are beyond hope, and I don't want to be your friend anymore! I'll watch Jeopardy instead! But no! The blue clue screens will only make me think of YOU!"

"Don't let me ruin Jeopardy for you...!"

"I'm rigging up some Homeworld reception so I can watch The Yellow Diamond Show, which was my favorite evening talk show."

"But don't you care about Earth?"

"Not if you do, you clod!" Peridot slunk off to her room and worked on her receptor.

 

Lapis took out a long scroll of paper and started writing.

Why did I agree to fuse?  
Why did I hold her down?  
Why do I miss her even to this day?  
Why did I hurt Peridot?  
Why was I trapped?  
Why am I a weak terraformer?  
Why did we have to break apart?  
Why can't I ever win?  
Why won't she take me back  
Why, why, why, why, why...

Then, she thought of something. Singing to Jasper sure worked when Garnet was fighting her, and converted her right to the fusion side. "I must do this," said Lapis, as she flew out of her watery room.

But she saw that Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst were standing in front of the temple door.

"Peridot told us that you missed Jasper, so we're here for your own protection," said Pearl.

"I can't let you be that thing again," said Garnet.

"I was going to get a soda!" Lapis tried to push her way past them.

"I see no possibilities where you do so."

"Anyway, you're staying here until you get over this whole Jasper thing!" Amethyst turned herself into a wall.

"I'm going back to my room!" 

When Lapis was in her room, she created a watery clone of Jasper. "Why, hello, Lazuli. You are the most beautiful gem I've ever seen," she said in a Jasper voice.

"Thank you, but I'm nothing compared to such a perfect quartz." She switched to her own voice.

"But I'm not perfect. I'm corrupted."

"Not too corrupted for me!"

"Oh, Lapis, you're wonderful! Let's fuse!" 

Lapis then made the water Jasper pick her up, spin her around, and dip her. But no fusion happened, since water cannot fuse with gems. She wailed and the Jasper dissipated.

"I know Lapis must be protected, but can you really deal with her crying like that?" asked Pearl.

"We've heard more from you," said Amethyst. Garnet gave a thumbs up.

Lapis then made a water version of Malachite and took her out of the room. "Let me out or I'll crush you with my Malachite!"

They formed into Alexandrite. "We're going to bubble Jasper before you can get to her!"

Lapis turned on her wings and flew to the lighthouse. She used the ocean to create a wall of water to block off Alexandrite, then went inside.

 

Jasper was sprawled out on the floor, replaying a segment of Camp Pining Hearts where Layla said, "I see what's right now! I love you!"

Lapis then noticed the camper's striking blue hair and limpid blue eyes. "Does that Layla... remind you of me?"

"No! She reminds me of Blue Diamond!"

"But you liked Pink Diamond, didn't you? Say what you mean. I'm not going to fuse with you again... unless you really want to."

"You would fuse with me if I wanted to?!"

"I would."

"Well, go fuse with that Peridot, because I'm not going to get trapped again!"

"You don't understand."

"I very well do understand!"

"No. Being stuck for many years... it was bound to bring me tears... then I got out and I could win... by fusing with you with a spin! You were perfect, you were great... but you were so full of hate... so I thought I should hold you down... just so some guy could stick around. Oh, my heart spins like a wheel when I'm around you, if I never would have came on down here, I never would have found you. Yes, I love game shows, but I know this to be true, even more than game shows, I wheely love you. What I did was very wrong... feeling like I don't belong... but I think we could set things right... by fusing into Malachite. You were me and I were you... but then we were split in two... my light-formed body soon would break... and reforming, much time would take. Oh, my heart spins like a wheel when I'm around you, if I never would have came on down here, I never would have found you. Yes, I love game shows, but I know this to be true, even more than game shows, I wheely love you."

"You really do... I guess we'll fuse again." Jasper spun Lapis around and dipped her, then kissed to fuse, and they broke the lighthouse with their Malachite form. Malachite pranced off to the temple, with Alexandrite following behind swinging her hammer. 

"Don't do this to her!" shouted Alexandrite.

"We must show Peridot! She hasn't even seen the combination of her most loyal companions!"

"Peridot doesn't want to." Alexandrite fired an arrow, but it failed to hit. Malachite roared into the temple.

"What is it?" Peridot walked out the door. "Oh my stars it's Malachite!"

"Like what you see?" Malachite flipped her hair.

"I don't want Lapis to be stuck in there! But I have to admit, you are kind of beautiful!"

"Aww, thanks!"

Then, Alexandrite split Malachite with an arrow through the back.

 

Jasper opened her eyes to find out that Garnet was holding her down while Pearl pointed her spear at her gem. "We thought we could trust you to at least be decent. But after that abomination of fusion happening again, we aren't sure if we can trust you," said Pearl.

"Don't do it! She may be mean, but... we're still family!" shouted Amethyst.

"No! Don't you care what Lapis thinks?"

"I must say what I think," said Lapis. "I missed Jasper so much. I missed how I felt when fused with her. I was no longer just some lapis who couldn't even stay around on the battlefield. I was Malachite, and it was great. And fusing with her again, I now have so much knowledge of how even when she was perfect, she considered herself worthless. Not even her most faithful technician wanted to fuse with her."

"And knowing how Lapis felt the last time we were Malachite was really an eye-opener," said Jasper. "It helped me know how she didn't really think she had the right to say she didn't like the fusion, and didn't have the will to use water against me. And now, I think I should speak more softly to her, having felt the pain of being trapped for so long." A tear slipped down from Jasper's eye. "Do you forgive me?"

"No." Pearl jabbed her spear into Jasper's gem, shattering it.

 

Lapis never left her room again. She got to keep Jasper's shards in a bubble and tried to fuse with them, but failed. The one time Lapis peeked her head out and tried to talk to Peridot about it, Peridot said, "You kind of deserve to be sad for being so stubborn."

No one else would ever accept her feelings, so she thought it was better to only talk to water clones from now on.


End file.
